Sill construction



March 26, 1935.

W. MEARNS, JR

sILL CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 25, 1952 Patented Mar. 26, 1935 STAT-.ES

messes "'FfFfliQE SILL CONSTRUCTION William "Mearns, ".lr., Maplewood, N. J.

Application, August 25, 1932,-"Serial No. 630,369

"6 Claims. (Cl. '2G-`G4) 'This inventionl relates to elevator door-sill con- ,-structions, thesame being peculiarly adapted for use inolice buildingshotels and institutions rand has for its principal objects thefprovision of an attractive,` compact AandV inexpensive construction fwhichiis a'dapted'to render'it possiblelto leave the temporary' Woo-'d or other coverings on the finished i frames or j ambs undisturbed pending -thefcompletion of the building, While permitting `of the laying, finishingand cleaning of the doors without damaging such'nished frames or jambs. Other advantages I of the invention are herein-A after-setforth.

-rrHereto'fore in various buildings having -elevator y:shafts lit has 'been customary-to provide a slabilikesill acrosseach-elevator `doorway and t0 extend-the doorlframe or jambs dovvn to sillv or floor level. In Aoffice buildings, hotels and the like, whereinynumerous elevators are installed, it isf customary to leave the greater portion ofy the temporary IWood `orothercoverings With which the finished` metal jambsf have* been A`protected by the manufacturer `to prevent marrfing'of the same during shipment"andcerectiom toremain on* the jambs `during the erectionofr the'l building, lbut in order to permit ofthe layingv afndfinishing ofthe floors;ithasbeen'necessary to remove such temporary Wood or other covering from the bottom portions of such jambs. Such removal of the bottom portion of the temporary `covering exposed the bottom of the jambs with the result that during the laying and finishing of the floor, Whether the same Was of terrazza or other ycement bonded material, the bottom portions of the jambs frequently were marred and rendered unsightly either because ofthe action of the rubbing machine or of the action of the cement which Was used to bond the rubble or floor particles together as a result of the same having become splashed thereon. Furthermore, in the periodic cleaning of these floors, even after the building was finished and the entire temporary coverings on the jambs had been removed, there was a tendency for the cleaning machine or the mops or the cleaning materials used to mar or otherwise injure the finish on the bottom of the jambs. Since these jambs were frequently finished with a baked enamel coating, the saine became permanently defaced as a result of such marringether during the original laying or finishing of the floor or during the subsequent cleaning thereof.

My investigations have led to the discovery of a form of construction of elevator door sill which, as above stated, is not only attractive in appearance and economical to construct, but is also free from the aforesaid objections and furthermore, such construction renders it possible tov leave undisturbed the temporary Wood or other coverings on theframes or jambe, as applied thereto by the manufacturer -until tthe entire building `is completed Ywithout-in any way interfering with the laying and finishing of the floors.

i My invention isfully set forth and described in the detail description and drawing forming a part thereof in which latter Figure l is a fragmentary front elevation of an elevator shaft equipped Withmy improved sill construction;

Fig. 2 is ahoriaontal section on the line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig; 3 is a vertical section ontheline 3 3- of Fig. 2 and ZFig. '4l-is a cross-sectionj-on thelinefll-lfl of Fig.f3.

Y*Referring tothe drawing andthe construee tion shown therein, the reference numerall designatesthe elevator shaft of -a building, Zthe corridor wal-ls' ofV ai building, l3, `3 the'opposing jambs or side frames of the elevator `door openings,-4,i1l= the -side tri'mf, -54 the` elevator 4`doors andff the corridoi' vfloor. y'-My"irri-proveddoor sill proper Ycomprises a` unitary struct-ure fpreferably of metal, consisting of opposing terminal uprights or plintlis l0, 10 which serve to support said jambs and an integral interconnecting Web or sill element ll, the same having slots 12, l2 to receive the tongues 13, 13 on the bottom of the respective elevator doors. Said sill has a depending marginal flange 14 Which projects over the rear edge of the floor. As shown, the bottom of the inner faces of the plinth elements, and the portion of the sill adjacent the same are curved and merge into each other so as to eliminate any sharp angle at the junction there-between and thereby facilitate the maintenance of the same in a clean sanitary condition.

Preferably my improved unitary sill and plinth member is cast from a single piece of metal such as cast iron, bronze, aluminum alloy or the like.

While in many cases it is preferable that the entire portion of each plinth and the entire sill member be cast as an integral unit, nevertheless, it may be desirable Where the only objects to be accomplished are the protection of the jambs during the erection of the building and the subsequent cleaning of the iioors thereof, or the reduction in the expense for patterns is desirable, that the upper portion of the plinths be formed as separate units and be screwed or bolted to abbreviated plinths cast on each end of the CII sill proper or even that separate plinth members be provided which are mortised or otherwise secured to the opposing ends of the sill proper, as distinguished from being cast integral therewith, and it is therefore intended that such constructions be embraced Within the scope of certain of the appended claims.

As shown, in my preferred construction of elevator door sill, the sill is formed of a single piece of metal throughout its entire width. It is evident, however, that the portion of the sill carrying the door grooves may be a separate flat sill which is splined or keyed to the main sill that carries the integral plinths at its opposite ends, though in such construction it would obviously be highly desirable to ll up the longitudinal crevice or joint between the two sill members with solder or the like in order to eliminate any possibility for the tendency of debris to collect therein.

Asis apparent from the foregoing, my improved elevator door sill construction is unusually sturdy and durable and such construction admits of the floors and sill being scrubbed or mopped during the periodic cleaning of the building corridors without risk of damaging the ornamental jambs or frames and, furthermore, in my preferred form of construction no debris can collect, since the plinths are integral with the sill and consequently there are no joints, such as is now the case in all present constructions between the base of the jambs and the sill.

By the term solid pedestals as used in the claims, is intended to refer to a solid base or support upon which the jamb is adapted to rest as distinguished from a socket adapted to receive such jamb.

Various changes within the scope of the appended claims may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as embraced therein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to obtain by United States Letters Patent is:

1. An elevator door sill, comprising a sill member having opposing terminal plinths, constituting solid pedestals, and adapted to support a door jamb at a level corresponding to the top of such pedestal formed integral therewith.

2. An elevator door sill, comprising a sill member having opposing terminal plinths, constituting solid pedestals, and adapted to support a door jamb at a level corresponding to the top of such pedestal formed integral therewith, the bottom of the inner surfaces of the respective plinths and the adjacent portion of the sill being curvilinear and gradually merging into each other.

3. An elevator door sill, comprising a casting having a sill member and opposing plinth members, constituting solid pedestals, and adapted to support a door jamb at a level corresponding to the top of such pedestal formed integral therewith, said sill member being grooved to receive the elevator door guides.

4. In a building construction, the combination comprising a corridor, flooring on said corridor, an elevator shaft adjacent the corridor, said shaft having door openings at the different levels of the building, elevator doors for closing said openings, elevator door sill members spanning the bottom of the door openings, each of said sill members having opposing terminal plinth members, constituting solid pedestals, a door jamb supported on each plinth member in such a manner that the extreme bottom of the door jamb is on the level with the top of said plinth member and a marginal flange projecting over the edge of the corridor flooring which is adjacent the shaft.

5. An elevator door sill, comprising a sill member, opposing terminal plinths, constituting solid pedestals, and adapted to support a door jamb at a level corresponding to the top of such pedestal rigidly secured thereto and serving as supports for the door jambs, whereby the latter are maintained in spaced relation with respect to the door sill level and an adjacent floor.

6. An elevator door sill, comprising a sill member proper and opposing plinth members, constituting solid pedestals, and adapted to support a door jamb at a level corresponding to the top of such pedestal connected thereto, at least a portion of each plinth being formed integral with at least a portion of the sill.

WILLIAM MEARNS, JR. 

